Property owners who benefit from the One Lake Project would likely face a special assessment tax if the estimated $340 million project becomes reality.

But supporters say the One Lake Project would benefit those property owners by lowering their flood insurance cost, leading to savings on homeowners’ insurance premiums because they would no longer be in the floodplain.

The savings on flood insurance would offset the increase in taxes, said Keith Turner, attorney for the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood & Drainage Control District, which is spearheading the One Lake Project.

Turner said the average cost for flood insurance in a floodplain is about $700 to $1,000 a year, but said the special assessment tax would be roughly $200 or $300 a year. He cautioned that is only an estimate.

The project is a long way from a done deal, but a decision could be made by federal officials by the end of the year on whether it will gain final approval.

If the project gains approval, then a key question is where will the money come from to complete it over the estimated three-year time frame for construction?

The One Lake plan, which can trace its winding roots back to the historic 1979 Easter flood, calls for widening the Pearl River south of the Ross Barnett Reservoir to below Jackson.

Opponents say there are less disruptive flood control options. One Lake construction would mean dredging to widen the Pearl, impounding 1,500 water acres with a new weir or low-head dam, and filling 1,000 acres of wetlands, which opponents say would remove seven miles of habitat for two federally protected species: Gulf sturgeon and the ringed sawback turtle.

Mississippi Chapter Sierra Club Director Louie Miller said his organization "is adamantly opposed to spending taxpayer dollars to finance private real estate development at the expense of our natural resources, which is the sole origin for this project."

The One Lake Project's stated goal is to mitigate flooding by becoming a spillover dam for the Ross Barnett Reservoir. But the plan would go further by opening up additional public access to the Pearl River that could lead to recreational and economic development.

Congress earmarked $134 million for the the project more than a decade ago. However, Turner said the $134 million hasn't been received, and it will be a process to receive the money if the project is given the go-ahead.

Turner said an estimated $340 million will be needed for the entire project, but the actual construction cost would be less.

The district's plan is to use federal state funds and the district's taxing authority to pay for the project.

District leaders estimate another $150 million must be secured beyond the federal earmark.

This year, the Legislature considered approving $50 million in general obligation bonds for One Lake, but the bill died near the end of the session.

Turner said the district still has to work out how much in state bonds would be needed for the project.

The other part of the district's funding plan is its taxing authority. The district has had taxing authority since it was created decades ago, but the Legislature extended the district's taxing reach last year.

A House bill passed in 2017 gives the district flexibility to adjust any future taxes for the lake between those with property directly benefiting from being waterfront and those with less or no direct benefit — instead of levying a flat rate for all properties in the district.

The two counties, Hinds and Rankin, would collect any assessment imposed by the district on property owners and distribute it to the district.

Similar to the Ross Barnett area, the district has taxing authority, but Turner said the district would operate on a much smaller scale and wouldn't have such things as its own police force. The Reservoir Police provides law enforcement within the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, which oversees the 33,000-acre Barnett Reservoir and the 17,000 acres surrounding it.

John Sigman, reservoir general manager, said the reservoir district once received tax money, but not anymore. He said the district's primary budget is from rental agreements with the 6,000 leaseholders of reservoir property. Reservoir property isn't sold; it can only be leased.

The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District doesn't receive any state or local tax dollars, Sigman said.

For the current budget year, the Legislature appropriated $18.2 million in special fund money for the reservoir district. Special fund means the money didn't come from tax dollars.

Sigman said the reservoir board is taking no position on the One Lake Project.

The nonprofit Pearl Riverkeeper, which advocates for the health of the Pearl River Basin, said the One Lake Project potentially could negatively impact the state's $891 million-a-year seafood industry.

Proponents say that wouldn't happen because the project would have to meet minimum outflow levels with emergency gates to the weir to ensure those levels are maintained, even in extreme drought conditions.

According to the district's presentation on the project, "with no perceptible decrease in water flowing downstream from Jackson, and with two-thirds of the Pearl River watershed actually south of Jackson, the project should have no impact on salinity levels in the Gulf."